The narrow teaching of writing that had been common in schools for hundreds of years was challenged in the 1980s by 'one of the most seductive writers in the history of writing pedagogy'. Donald Graves's process approach to writing, as it came to be known, was popular in Australia, New Zealand, USA and the UK. At the heart of Graves's approach was…

In the L2 writing literature, there has been a rich history of scholarship in theory, research and practice since the 1960s. Two of the most prominent L2 writing approaches are process and portfolio pedagogy. The former approach promotes the use of diverse writing strategies (e.g. pre-writing) to enhance student writers' expression and fluency.…

Background: The need for improvement in writing instruction in schools is dependent on teachers being aware of evidence-based procedures in writing and implementing them on a regular basis in their classrooms. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency with which teachers in Western Canada employed evidence-based procedures in…

In this article we propose, theorize, demonstrate, and report early results from a course that approaches first-year composition as introduction to Writing Studies. This pedagogy explicitly recognizes the impossibility of teaching a universal academic discourse and rejects that as a goal for first-year composition. It seeks instead to improve…

Examines the work of Linda Flower to explore "control" in writing, approaching her texts from a deconstructive (Derridean) perspective. Concludes that: the paradoxical nature of control has consequences for understanding cognition; and an acknowledgement of these consequences requires a reconsideration of "control" as the…

Examines the work of Janet Emig, particularly "The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders," as a means of gaining historical insight into the process movement in writing today. (TB)

Summarizes six significant findings of research on writing that business communication teachers may find of special interest. Lists seven implications of the research for business communication instruction. (RS)

Discusses research on the role of teacher help in process-oriented writing instruction. Maintains that, as students become more competent writers, teachers must withdraw as collaborators, or students will not become independent writers and process-oriented instruction will become another form of product-oriented instruction. (SR)

A new theoretical paradigm for teaching writing and organizing composition research was at hand by 1982, focusing on how writers write and the practice of interventionist teaching. Today, the process theory of teaching composition dominates the field, yet it has not shifted teaching practices or research questions toward the settings and…

Fifteen upper-elementary teachers (regular and resource room) agreed to enact a new instructional model called Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing (CSIW). The model emphasized that teachers should model the cognitive processes of writers, scaffold dialogue with students about their writing, and create a social context in which writers…

An action research project developed a program for improving writing skills. The targeted population consisted of second through fifth grade students in two districts in growing middle to upper class communities, located in suburbs southwest of Chicago. The need for improving writing skills was evidenced by classroom teacher observations,…

A 1991 survey questioned 61 teachers on the ways they were using collaborative learning to teach composition. Comparisons with a 1988 survey showed that the biggest increase was in the use of collaborative drafting strategies. Increases also occurred in focusing, prewriting, and editing, and there were slight decreases in revision and…

Finds no significant relationship between type of writing instruction received (portfolio-based or standard process approach) and course grades and final examination scores. Finds a significant relationship between a final independent evaluation of students' portfolios and their course grades and final examination scores. (SR)

Responds to Thomas Devine's indictment of the process approach to writing instruction, arguing that teaching practices reflecting misapplication of research are often wrongly labeled the process approach and a more precise definition of the process approach should inform debates over its value. Questions Devine's conclusions. (DMM)

Describes how a third-grade teacher's concern that his students were learning the language of revision without knowing how to revise inspired his search for an "honest response." Notes how he observed for two years the writing process in his classroom. Depicts a particular writing culture whose members suggested answers to his questions and…